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Where to stay in Sicily?

Sicily for 5 days / 5 nights at the end of August. Where to stay?

  • My sister and I are going to Sicily at the end of August. We fly into and out of Palermo, arriving on a Saturday morning and leaving the following Thursday morning. Where should we stay? Looking for suggestions on both locations and accommodation. I’ve read through the various threads on here and asked friends. The difficulty is that so many places sound amazing. (Not such a bad problem to have but makes it hard to choose!) Given we’re not there very long is it better to stay in one place or move around a bit? We’re happy to hire a car but would probably prefer to take public transport. We’re after nice beaches for swimming, beautiful walking routes, pretty towns and villages, ruins and historical sites. Looking for more of a relaxing time than a party time, but would enjoy a few glasses of wine in the evening somewhere a wee bit lively with people to chat to, at least for one or two nights. My sister is mid-20s and I’m late 20s and it would be nice to have people around our age, although that’s not essential. Our budget is at the lower end but not ridiculously tight, and characterful pensiones/B&Bs appeal more than swanky hotels anyway. If staying in one place, Palermo seems to make geographical sense as we could do a day trip to Cefalu towards the east, go west to the Zingaro nature reserve, or inland to the mountains. It also seems to have better value accommodation options. Stromboli sounds incredible and I’d live to fit it in, although perhaps that’s too ambitious? Is Palermo too busy to be relaxing? We both live in big cities and like bustle, but I’m probably inclined to stay somewhere quieter. Any suggestions? Friends recently visited Scopello and really liked it. Syracusa really appeals but my feel is we’d be better to stay on the north/west coast since we’re flying in and out of there. Or is that wrong? Lastly, should we book accommodation in advance (given it’s busy season) or wing it? Don’t want to make that part of the trip stressful, but I’ve done it in Croatia in August and it was pretty easy and good to have the freedom to stay longer in one place if we so fancied.

  • Answer:

    It is difficult. With five days it might be realistic to do just the east or just the west. For the west, Palermo wold be logical. You can certainly relax there. See the puppets, visit Monreale, day trip down to Agrigento for the finest Greek temples anywhere, day trip to Cefalu (maybe even stay in Cefalu? It's much more of a beach resort, and you need to scale La Rocca). But the east probably has slightly more. I like Catania better than Palermo, though most think otherwise. I'd consider it as a base. Go up Etna, do Syracuse. You have to go to Taormina. The problem is I think the east is slightly better, but it is a bit of a schlep both ways from Palermo. You could try to do the lot, but in five days you would do an awful lot of travelling.

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Oh, if it were me I'd book in advance cos I'm cautious but I actually found nicer places with more character when I booked in while actually there.

Segundus

For Palermo, I would absolutely second Monreale. For the rest, Agrigento and Taormina are wonderful, if you have the time to get there, though both might stretch your timing (and budget) and I don't know that you could do both at a relaxed speed on the same trip. Palermo is itself extremely bustling and the older parts of the city (the market) are definitely not for ambling, but as with any city, there are areas that are less crazed. Siracusa is a lovely city but I think you're right about the time that it would take to get there. If you were heading to the west, Erice is a lovely little town with great almond paste treats, and the island of Mozia by some of the salt flats has Punic remains-- not awe-inspiring like Agrigento, but still an interesting and different look at Sicily's history.

jetlagaddict

Stromboli is incredible and would take total of two full days if are coming to and fro Palermo. It was the highlight of my Italy trip. Palermo is a bustling city and interesting to walk around in. But to be honest I think couple of days is enough to see the sights inside the city. I enjoyed this http://palermo.for91days.com/ for Palermo and Sicily ideas. One thing about trains in Sicily, I don't know if it's the case in other parts of the world but the trains only stop at smaller stations for less then 20 seconds. I learned the hard way that if you are not johnny on the spot when the train stops then you are out of luck.

Pantalaimon

August in Sicily? It will be hot, (which I like), but it will be FULL to overflowing with tourists, both from Italy and cashed up countries like Russia. Accommodation is likely to be hard to find, certainly at a reasonable price. Do some research now ~ the economic situation is likely to mean that there will be more available, but it could be risky (and I rarely book). Can't recommend the east enough, but it is a distance to travel. Siracusa would be a great fit for your needs, and not difficult to find accommodation (check out the markets!), but you'd need to make the decision early. Have fun!

Flashduck

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